Galen 'Urik' Gallatin "Soldiers are expendable. Me? I'm too smart to be wasted." Full Name: Galen Gallatin Titles: Marquis Urik Social Rank: Marquis Job or Societal Position: Advisor to the late Lord Rikard, Master of the Exchequer (Royal Accountant) Age: 28 Gender: Male Personality: Sly almost to a fault, Marquis Urik relies mostly on his wits rather than physical might to see himself through the day. His greatest advantage basically comes down to his skill in blackmail; he has juicy information on just about everyone. These skill in particular helped him attain his vaunted position. History: Born to the late fourth Marquis of Urik, Galen was destined for a political life before he was even out of the womb. As the heir to a key defensive territory in the demesne of Whitelands, his lands buck up against the outer territories of the demesne of Forklands, Galen's sole purpose from nearly the day he was born was learning how to best defend his territory and deter would-be raiders and bandits. As a secondary function of his lands being located so far to the south of Whitelands Galen also possesses one of the few plots in the Whitelands which are truly suitable for agriculture and as a result his family, over the years, has accrued quite a bit of wealth. This wealth however was the true beginning of the Gallatin families' ambition. Through some long and almost nearly forgotten familial ties the Gallatins are related, however tangentially, to the Weade's by blood, something that explains their key positioning upon Whitelands borders; who better to trust than one's own blood? These ties however are the root of the Gallatin families' secret ambitions. Since obtaining their post in Urik the family has, throughout its generations, constantly attempted to secretly gain the throne and Galen is no different. Galen's father the fourth Marquis took large strides in securing his first son's appointment as Master of the Exchequer, a powerful position which controls the purse strings of the kingdom. With Galen away, his younger brother of 3 years, Gerrik has taken over the duties of running the family estate and seeing to the defense of Whiteland's borders. Many in court are aware of the families' ambitions, however, the few people who seem to have remained oblivious are the Weades themselves. Skills: Marquis Urik's ability to manage money and supplies won him the highly contested position of Master of the Exchequer. His ability to extract and act on information (blackmail). His meticulously cultivated ring of informants and 'spies'. Dreams and Fears: Marquis Urik dreams of a wide dominion completely under his control. He fears his plans being discovered. Favored Equipment: Long, flowing, extravagant robes which instantly declare his social status and courtly position. An intricately carved dagger which he carries about for emergency defense. Extra: Marquis Urik completely buys into mystic superstition and believes in things like seers, fortune-tellers, fate-workers, etc. Valeria Valentine "A knight's job is to defend their liege!" Full Name: Valeria Valentine Titles: Knight of the Bridge Social Rank: Knight Errant Job or Societal Position: Wandering Knight Age: 19 Gender: Female Personality: Fearless, Valeria has set out a path for herself which she is determined to follow to the end. Perseverance is one of her defining qualities and it has kept her alive during her years of chivalric wandering. She professes and follows the common code of chivalric virtue which all true knights attest too, namely: the defense of a chosen lord, the protection of the peasantry, a knight's sworn chastity, and above all else a keen religious reverence. History: Born into a poor family in the iron hills, Valeria's predecessors were actually miners and blacksmiths going a long way back. Unenthused with the prospects of a life toiling away at iron and steel she'd never get to put to use herself (even though she excelled at the smithing arts), Valeria departed her traditional home with nothing but a bit of armor and some hand-crafted weapons/gear. During her travels she was able to acquire a fake patents of nobility which painted her as the daughter of an extremely low-born noble family and was, from this position, able to find herself a place in a border noble's militia. Taking to her training well, Valeria spent a couple of years honing her skills before departing again, insistent this time, her knightly vows have long since been taken, that she should find herself a proper lord. These aspirations in mind Valeria became a knight-errant, a wandering warrior who did her best to express her heart-felt values of chivalric duty and courage. It was during these wanderings that she gained her nickname, 'Knight of the Bridge'. One sunny day Valeria set herself up around a small bridge which forked an minor, but still unfordable stream, intent on spending the day challenging passers-by to friendly 'bouts of chivalric battle. As the day passed on various peasants of every shape and size crossed back and forth upon the bridge, each in turn declining the knight's requests for combat. At some point, a merchant and his accompanying cavalcade of four lightly-armed bodyguards approached the bridge on the other side, muscling out peasants and in some cases pushing them over into the river. Obviously a true knight could never stand for such an affront to the peasantry, after all, Valeria had taken a vow to protect them from tyranny. Therefore Valeria interceded herself upon the platform and challenged the merchant to back down from his wrong-doings. Perturbed, the oligarch sent his men to clear a path and through force of will Valeria was able to toss each in turn over and into the river, causing them to drown under the weight of their armor and clearing the bridge for use by the common folk. Skills: Valeria has been thoroughly trained in a variety of knightly skills including equestrian, swordsmanship, archery, physical conditioning, and survival tactics. Dreams and fears: Valeria dreams to one day attach herself to a powerful lord and serve them for the rest of her days. Valeria fears being turned away from such a position or dying lordless and without honor. Favored Equipment: Valeria has an incomplete set of roughly used and dented steel armor (pauldrons, greaves, gauntlets) and a chainmail shirt in addition to her hand-me-down sword and shield. She also has a couple of sets of mild clothing and boots. Most of these items are carried on her horse and she rarely wears her armor about (its quite heavy). Extra: Valeria has a horse named Lowen. Note: I'm almost positive something in here is either wrong/needs to be tweaked so please let me know whatever that is. Second Note: Bios are incoming.